Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is Walter Public Investments Inc.'s 8th Largest Position

Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,219 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,347 shares during the period. Moody's accounts for 3.8% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Moody's were worth $20,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Moody's by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,335 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $34,715,000 after buying an additional 10,350 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,960 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,401,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Moody's by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,487 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Moody's by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter valued at about $283,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total transaction of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCO traded down $3.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $499.33. The company had a trading volume of 536,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,397. The stock has a market cap of $89.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.38. Moody's Corporation has a twelve month low of $378.71 and a twelve month high of $531.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $479.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.94.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 60.37% and a net margin of 29.15%. On average, research analysts predict that Moody's Corporation will post 13.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Moody's from $475.00 to $456.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mizuho assumed coverage on Moody's in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $504.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Moody's from $585.00 to $495.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Moody's from $572.00 to $573.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Moody's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.07.

About Moody's

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.